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Why You Should Consider Going above State Required Coverage

On the state pages of our website, we cover the legally required insurance minimums, and we take great care to let you know that there are other options available. But, why should you consider going beyond state required coverage?

Reasons to go beyond auto insurance minimums

State limits can be quite low, especially when you consider what you’re potentially liable for. In most of the states we serve, the limits are 25/50/25. That’s $25,000 medical per person, $50,000 medical per incident, and $25,000 in property damage.

We all know how expensive medical bills can get. The minimums assume you would pay out for a driver and one passenger, but what if there are more people in the other person’s car? If they have 3, or 4 passengers, the expenses could get out of hand quickly.

In addition, $25,000 property damage is unlikely to cover all the damages if you hit an expensive vehicle. Hit a Mercedes or another luxury vehicle, and you could be on the hook for an extra $20,000 or more.

There are two key points to note about minimum state required coverage

It is liability coverage, which offers zero protection to you, your passengers, or your vehicle.

If you cause more damage than the insurance limits, you are personally responsible for paying the rest.

There is a long list of situations that liability insurance doesn’t cover you for, including:

Being struck by another driver who does not have insurance

Theft, vandalism, and damage to your vehicle by natural causes

Medical bills for you and your family, regardless of fault

Collision damage, regardless of fault

The good news is, there are policies for all of these situations. A good auto insurance policy is robust, and covers you in as many situations as possible. The longer your list of exceptions, the greater the chance you will have to handle sudden, unexpected expenses out of pocket.

Here are the takeaways:

Carry higher than minimum limits for your liability insurance, especially if you have financial assets worth protecting, such as a home.